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57 responses so far ↓

IDEA rules only address transfers from one public agency/school to another. So different schools handle this situation differently. They may treat this as a new referral. It is important to contact the sp ed dept. as soon as possible.

My grandson was denied PT services which he has always had even though his strength and agility was in the 18th percentile in the Bruininks-Osteretsky Test of Motor Agility. His body coordination was in the 38th percentile. The school says he is able to participate and make use of his education, so he can’t get any more help. He has an autism spectrum disorder and can’t even take a walk with us because his legs start to hurt and his stamina is terrible. Can they deny him this?

Lisa – you’re wise to check your law book. Don’t think you will find anything in IDEA that says IEPs end at age 9. Might be interesting to see the written copy of the rule/regulation/policy that the school is using.

The question that needs to be answered is “Does the child have a disability that adversely affects educational performance?” If the answer to the question is “yes,” then the child is eligible under IDEA. [even at age 9]

Check determination of eligibility – Section 1414 and the federal regulations regarding determining eligibility, requirements for FAPE, requirements for evaluations and reevalutions, and what must be done before a school can terminate eligibility.

My son has ADD and Generalized Anxiety Disorder. He currently has a 504, it was a nightmare getting it written. He is going to Middle School next year, and I was told I may be able to get him an IEP. How do I prove that he needs an IEP instead of a 504.

Can schools take parents to court when their child has a learning disability, is sick very often with diarrhea and other problems and has to be absent and they had doctor excuses for some days but some days have a excuse cause of the same thing. and the child has to take medicines for different things wrong. and they have an IEP to for homebound services but wanted to change it because they didn’t have a teacher to come out to home to teach. Can they do this?

Lisa, many schools focus solely on the academics, but the law also talks about the child’s functioning.

There is no intrinsic reason services cannot be provided under a 504…. However, the folklore in many places is that there is a fundamental incompatibility.

You should arrange a meeting with each evaluator to go over the reports before the annual review. If you are continuing to get the sense they are preparing to declassify, get at LEAST one provider to attend the meeting and provide strong support (having submitted an evaluation or letter ahead of time).

“Operating on grade level” is ancient history at this point. (But they may not realize that….)

My 8 year-old (on the spectrum with fairly severe sensory and anxiety issues) has had an IEP since kindergarten, and the goals have always been functional. He needs A LOT of support with executive functioning and coping with anxiety, and has speech, OT, special ed, and pysch services. I am terrified that his IEP will be downgraded to a 504 next year because I was told that if by age 9 he still was operating on grade level, he could no longer have an IEP. Can someone verify that fact for me? If it’s true, any suggestions?

Under the Child Find Mandate that includes migrant children – Is the school required to evaluate a child relocated to the US in their native language (psychological testing), knowing that the child recently experienced a traumatic event of life/death and is visibly affected in order to assess, if she is emotionally challenged and unable to access the curriculum? NOTE: A Spanish Professional has been identified and found since the school only has English-speakers.

If a child has attended a private school for children with and with special needs, has an FIE and IEP with inclusion support does the school district he is transferring into have to accept this information and match services during the transfer period?

A district’s child find responsibility does not have to be a team decision. The federal Dept. of Ed. has made it clear that the RTI process is not to deny the parent’s right to ask for a sp ed evaluation at anytime. Sometimes, state & district rules allow others to make a referral for evaluation also.

My 10 year old twin sons both have an autism diagnosis and experience elopement issues. Both boys wear a project lifesaver bracelet. The bracelets are written into their IEP/s and states that scissors are to be hidden because they have a tendency of cutting the bracelets off. Three times I have gotten a call from their teacher that one of the boys cut their bracelet forcing the staff to search for the missing transmitter. Twice they were able to locate it but this last time they were not. The bracelets cost our family $350 per child. I feel the school should have to pay for a new bracelet since they are written into the IEP and are considered a safety/medical device. Although, school claims they are a personal item and they are not responsible to pay for a new one.

My son has LD and attention disorder,(suspect dyslexia) he has an IEP. In the Language Survey I wrote that I speak to him in English and Spanish, but his primary L is English. I communicate with him in English and my husband is american. The spanish he hears is two words if that. Anyway, he has been wrongly placed in ESL. How do I correct that and get him out of that? He faces so many challenges already for in top of that have to deal with that. I asked for him to be removed from ESL but they said that he’s still required to take the ACCESS test.

Patty, I don’t know, but I’ve had this problem too. I recommend that you make an appointment to observe your child in his classroom, and see if an opportunity presents itself for you to speak briefly with the para. Maybe you could give her your card with a note such as “it was such a pleasure to see how you work with my child. Could you give me a call sometime this week, please?” and then just hope she doesn’t give the card to the principal….

You can also try to arrange for an in-service (training for staff working with your son). Even if it’s only for an hour, staff can benefit a lot. Talk with the trainer ahead of time to alert him/her to your son’s particular situation and then the trainer can tailor the workshop to your son’s particularities.

I was a para for a few years. I had a sincere parent approach me several times about her child as I was the 1-1 for that child. The parent was sincerely concerned but inappropriate. My job as a para was to work with the supervising staff (teacher, counselor, special education staff, etc). Parental concerns and issues should go through the right channels. Many paras I know have felt harassed by parents. We care about students and want to see them make progress. The school administration had to set some guidelines for that parent as that parent’s behaviors were distracting. I understood the parent’s concerns but paras report to the staff not the parents and crossing that line is not good. It puts the para in a compromising position.

From the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), currently reauthorized as the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB):

Section 9101
(32) PARENTAL INVOLVEMENT- The term ‘parental involvement’ means the participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring —
(A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning;
(B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; (C) that parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; (D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118.
Section 1118 Each school served under this part shall jointly develop with parents for all children served under this part a school-parent compact. […] Such compact shall — (2) address the importance of communication between teachers and parents on an ongoing basis through, at a minimum —
(A) parent-teacher conferences in elementary schools, at least annually, during which the compact shall be discussed as the compact relates to the individual child’s achievement;
(B) frequent reports to parents on their children’s progress; and
(C) reasonable access to staff, opportunities to volunteer and participate in their child’s class, and observation of classroom activities.

And looking at this from a different point of view… what are the services and supports you would like to see implemented through an IEP? Do some brainstorming, jot everything down; and then sift through your ideas to see which ones you could introduce under Response to Intervention. Right now, I assume the most important thing is for this child to starting growing?

I am a special education resource teacher. In a student service team meeting today addressing whether or not a student who is currently receiving Tier 3 interventions with little to no growth occurred. I personally felt like if after another round of intervention we continued to see the lack of growth that the team should move forward. Our principal was very defensive in the meeting and stated that she would NOT let the team move forward with an IEP in the fall for this student and that maybe by the end of the next year or beginning of his 3rd grade yr it could happen. Can a principal make that decision? I was always under the impression that this was a TEAM decision. I know in IDEA it states that a program and placement are determined by the TEAM but is this true for an initial case study evaluation?

My 9 yo 3rd grade son has an IEP for ADHD and Autism. Primary goals involve a severe deficit in executive functioning skills, focus and attention. Several county schools were involved in a pilot program last year for neuroscience (brain training) software to help with these issues. The county has since approved the program for use throughout the county.

I have done a fair amount of research and believe the software could be life-changing for our son. Upon inquiring about the program to our son’s school I am told they “currently have no plan to implement the software program.”

Could such software fall under “assistive technology”? (Code reference?) Is there any other WL section (or other means) which could be used to attain such software for my son’s use?

I have no idea why the letter says eligible, other than she was eligible under EI. The federal Dept. of Ed. monitors transition from EI programs to public schools so some states & districts worry about handling transitions appropriately. If you feel that a social or behavior assessment is appropriate, you have the right to request these. Since they have done an evaluation, you have the right to access the state dispute resolution process (mediation, state complaint, due process hearing.)

Thanks Chuck, as I was thinking that is what they want but no actual social or behavior assessment has been completed. I understand the difference between the educational diagnosis and medical diagnosis after reading through all the great info. We received the diagnosis three weeks after evaluation after being on wait list for a developmental ped. They told us at the initial evaluation there is no way she would qualify for services they already had their minds made up. Still confused as to why they would put a letter stating she is eligible but the eval says no? Is it a ploy to get us there to sign off so EI and School are in the clear? She turns 3 on Saturday.

Having a meeting whether a student is eligible or not for services is in accordance with federal regulations. A team of people, including the parents, must make the formal decision that a child is not eligible for services. It is important to note that eligibility can be based on social skills & behavioral needs, not just academic needs.

According to Eval report done by school district for child with high functioning autism transitioning out of EI, she was not eligible for services. Had an assessment done for speech with occupational therapist present whom saw no sensory issues. Was asked to come back for eval in classroom setting and told she participated but we were in a separate room. Received copy of report with two letters and the top says that we are invited to an iep meeting and that our child is eligible for services but eval report says no delay or disability and not eligible. Why do they want us to come in?

Hi my son has PDD – NOS. He is 4 years old and in a substantially separate autism classroom.The school district wants to move my son to another substantially separate class in another school because he is not meeting his IEP goals.They state his current class is academic, the other class is lower functioning. What are my rights to keep him in his current class?

My daughter is still failing a subject. I asked for a Parent Teacher Conference the beginning of January. It was ignored. The school has her on a 504 plan but when I asked for an a special conference with the teacher I was denied in Jan. The school admin and school counselor will not share how they are measuring her plan and they are not following up with me. I have been bullied by school counselors, a teacher, principals, and others in the school system. They have tried to make me look like the problem and they have helped to turn her against me. They started putting her on a bus to her fathers when she was supposed to come back to me. They create other problems and they have been asking for her to advocate for herself when they bullied me more. I am still advocating for her and she is still in high school but she is18 now. Help!

My son is receiving a temporary para at school. We are pushing for shared para for him. They are testing the waters … So to speak. They will gather the data and let us know if para is really needed. I sent a note to have para contact me since I have no idea who this person is. I simply wanted to tell her more about my son’s issues.
I was informed by vice principal that goes against district policy. Is this the norm?

I suggest putting your concerns about this situation in writing to the principal & the sp ed director. If you have already done so, you can do so again & can consider making a state complaint or requesting mediation. You can also get help/support from your state parent training & information center. You can find a listing of these under topics on the home webpage.

Janet, I don’t have the answers for you, I’m not an expert, but you may want to consider homeschooling your child, with special education and related services provided in your home. The way this works is, it’s as though your home were a private school that is too small to provide services with their own staff, and then the public school district has to send providers there. Try to connect with homeschoolers in your area to find out what their experiences with this have been, before you burn your bridges.

What do you do when you have a IEP for homebound services for the whole year and at beginning of school was told the school wouldn’t let the teacher come, then second month of school being in they want to change it but you keep focusing on the teacher coming. You go ahead and try it their way knowing that it was better for the teacher to come to the house to teach cause of the child getting sick with sore throats, diarrhea, etc very often and has to miss school. Also was afraid that if didn’t sign would be taken to court like previous school years. What to do to get it back to the teacher coming to the home to teach like last year? Was better and was thriving and happy a lot more when teacher came. Thanks and will appreciate any answers as soon as possible.

My son is in 4 grade he has ADHD and Autism. In his IEP he has to have 1 hour every day with the Special ED teacher, but she is not going to pull him out of his class for his one hr with her one on one. Also she wants him to lie about it. She told me on Friday that she had talk to my son about using the computer during the Math STARR test. But my son told me in front of her that she never got to see him that day. She try to convince him she has pick him up about 11 a.m. I just getting frustrated with not getting my son’s accommodations being provided. Please help. I don’t know what to do next.

My son has an IEP for ADHD and needs to move constantly. He is in third grade. HIs primary classroom teacher had a conversation with the Science teacher about my son’s issues and what he is allowed and not allowed in his IEP in front of not only my son, but the entire third grade class. What course of action can we take aside form dealing with this at the local school level?

My son went through this. Did I like it? No. Did he like it? No. Services beyond school hours were not realistic. Why? My son has a life after school such as competitive sports, youth group, friends, etc. With that being said, we moved to a different school district and the new school district was very creative in meeting his academic needs and allowing him to participate in some electives BUT, we had to compromise and collaborate with the school. It was not a perfect situation but my son was happy, making progress and advocating for himself. Middle school is a tough time. I wanted a balanced school day for my child not one only focused with academics. Few middle school students want to extend their school day with academics. They need balance.

My 6th grade autistic son was questioned by the principal and vice principal about an incident report filed by another student without a parent or his behavioral aide present. Given leading questions the Administrators he “admitted” to part of the accusations. The aide was never questioned, was present at the time of the incident, and swears nothing happened. My son swears to me he does not know how, when, or why he did the things in the report. Can I amend his IEP to say he needs to have a parent or aide present if questioned by school staff? Can I also get a copy of the incident report?

It appears that the school believes that your children need additional instruction in math & LA. While this may be appropriate, IDEA say that all students should have access to the general ed curriculum. While schools can offer services beyond school hours, they do not like to do this. You may want to contact the sp ed office or the central administration.

We have twin 6th grade girls both with an IEP. This is their first year in Middle school and they receive double periods of Math and Language Arts. Because they receive these double periods they are excluded from taking any elective courses. My husband and I have spoken with elective teachers, counselors etc. hoping for some kind of offering that the girls can do at home or before or after school so that they can feel included and participate in learning more about highly interesting subjects to them. We have little to no response. Is this legal to exclude sp. ed students from participating in elective courses? What course of action do you recommend taking?

I have a 2 part question. My special needs son had an incident report filed by kids that are bullying him yesterday. #1 Do I have any legal right to that report? If it’s confidentiality what if the names are redacted?
#2 Can I put an amendment in his IEP that says he must have a parent or his behavioral aide present when he is being questioned by school staff?

Second, consider that every child develops in different areas according to his or her own pace. At 7, she might be at the tail end of the bell curve of what is normal. Sometimes schools push their intellectual expectations too aggressively in the early grades, and don’t take an individual’s natural timeline into consideration.

Third, if you can find fun ways of incorporating into your play time with her some of the basic skills she will need to succeed academically, you’ll be laying important groundwork and establishing rapport and trust. Examples: count by three’s while playing a jumping game. Learn fractions in a cooking project.

I have a 7 year old grand-daughter who is not complying with teachers or parent. She seems to be able to learn what she wants, but not what she needs. Songs, shows, yes. Not bookwork, reading writing, math. She acts as if she does not know what is going on. As her grandmother I am very hurt and confused and don’t know what to do or where to turn. The school does not seem to want to help us.

Kim, I would advise you to try for an IEP, and if not, then get a 504. Reasons: legal protections, both now and in the future; support so school can be as positive an experience as possible; and accommodations and services so your daughter can make as much progress as possible in areas such as improving fine motor skills gradually, in a supportive environment, with the help of personnel with special expertise.

The teachers are supposed to differentiate instruction AND assessments, taking into account your daughter’s different abilities. They have to judge (grade) her according to HER current level and abilities, not according to some preconceived idea about what a 7yo should be able to do. The legal document makes it easier to ensure this in a consistent way, from one year to the next.

7 y/o daughter has low muscle tone & it affects writing & PE. Does she need IEP or 504 to have teachers make allowances & not mark down grades because she has trouble running, doing pull ups or with fine motor skills like writing? She is currently in therapy outside of school. We are in Missouri.

Jaim, I don’t know about the legal side of this — but have you considered finding family day care instead, or having someone care for your child after school in your home? A good, compassionate caregiver is worth her weight in gold.

For your other question: even if they succeed in declassifying your son for next year, he will still be entitled to extra help for, I think, three more years. However, it would make more sense, if they think his needs are significantly less than they were originally, to decrease the one-on-one hours gradually, monitoring his levels of performance during that process. Your son can have an IEP even if he doesn’t have an aide.

If they are serving other students after 4:30 p.m., then this could be an issue of discrimination. Discussing this with the sp ed office might be more productive than dealing with the campus. If this service is provided by another agency & not the school district, then you need to deal with that agency also.

Hello, my son is in a self-contained kindergarten class and we signed him up for after school care with a one on one aide provided in September. This is in his IEP but no time restrictions are written. He has been staying until 4:30-5 pm and now I notified the teacher over 2 weeks ago that we need until 5:30 pm since I finally found a full time job. I have verbally and written in emails said I would need it until 5:30 pm once I found a full time job. Yesterday I get an email from the program’s director that they can’t provide after care after 4:30 pm. Can they do this? Now also concerned they will take out of IEP for next school year. If I didn’t need to work full time, I wouldn’t! We pay for the after-care (same fee as all the other kids).

You need two things: (1) write down in your own words the detrimental effects of current state of affairs. This is painful but necessary. (2) you need a letter from a doctor or therapist supporting your position. This will be much stronger if the person writing the letter is prepared to attend a meeting with you. You should be prepared to pay the person for his/her time. Not all providers are willing to do this — so ask up front.

Looking for outside placement from school. My 8th grade son has recently been hospitalized. Since coming back to school he has been sent home early 66% of the days for anxiety, crying in class, etc. Used to be A student, performer in musicals, soloist. Now can’t even get to school or look at homework for more than 5 minutes without melting down. Has quit music, band, everything. Want him in Therapeutic Day School, where he can access immediate clinical help when needed. School wants to put him in self-contained class. Need HELP with words on WHY self-contained not right for him> Anyone??

The district is taking the position that the 2 classrooms are similar enough that this is just a change of location & not a change of placement. In such cases parent consent is not needed. The state education agency or a hearing officer would have to rule whether the district is correct. You can still challenge the appropriateness of the class, because of your child’s need for a quiet calm environment.

PRIVATE SCHOOL FOR LD DOES NOT USE IEPS AND POOR AT PROGRESS MONITORING

Unilateral placement of dyslexic, ADHD, ASD child at area private school for LD expiring. Suspect little progress made and due for outside Reeval. They are not living up to our expectations that are noted in their handbook and web site. It seems that the school takes no responsibility in educating or providing progress. There is even a ” good faith” clause in the enrollment contract. Is this legal? A group of dissatisfied parents awaits responses.

After years of trying to get our district to do what the law requires and even filing a complaint with SCDoEd I have decided to homeschool. My question is-Do I still have to have an IEP or communicate with the school district if I use SC 3rd Option and join a Homeschool Association and pick my own curriculum???

I have an 8 year boy with Down Syndrome. Immediately after his IEP meeting I was told the school wanted to put him in a different school, but same district, because they were changing the programming at his current school. This would take him out of his neighborhood school which he has been attending since kindergarten and also separate him from his brother who is a year behind him in school. We do not agree with this also because the new placement would be in a room with kids who have a lot of behaviors and my son already is in need of quiet one-on-one to learn. Can the school district do this without our consent?

Cali, you can probably file a state special education complaint, based on IDEA. If you sign the complaint as a group, this would increase the impact. There is no cost to you to do this. You can complain about things that happened during the last 12 months, I believe.

Call the state office that handles such complaints before you write it up, so you know which aspects are mostly likely to succeed.

To get IEP data, you file a FOIL request. Ask for electronic delivery so they don’t charge you for printing. You can submit the request by email. For a successful FOIL, ask for EVERYTHING you might conceivably find useful, and describe what you want in great detail. First, check the state ed website to see what data are already available.

I live in Colorado.1)The district is not implementing and providing services as stated in kid’s IEPs.2) district wants to build a k-12 sped school to house ssn, autism, adhd.3)kids are being taken off IEPs without data supporting it.Can parents unite and file a class action lawsuit? how do I find out if an attorney in CO does probono work?How can the district build a sped school and get around the least restrictive environment law?How,who can I get IEP data about a school district’s IEPs? Do they have to keep such data and can they release it?The local school board has repeatedly demonstrated that they will not listen to parents. Do you have any advice about a class action suit? Is there a statute of limitations on the data/evidence we can use?

This sounds like a topic a local newspaper would be interested in reporting on. Try calling the news desk. Remember, the newspaper is understaffed, so just state the information calmly, and give them your name and contact information. Make sure to say that you don’t want your name published. If they want to cover it, they’ll assign someone to call you back.

My child told me of an incident that happened at school today. Apparently all of the students were brought to their counselors and were asked not to mention a situation and to forget about it. This is a grammar school through mid school. The situation involves a group of children that have done something in the lines of child pornography. What steps can I take to not only report but sue the school and department of education? This is serious.

SCHOOL ADMIN PRESSURES SPEECH PATH NOT TO GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS (BECAUSE OF BUDGET)

My wife is a speech path. She’s been discouraged from giving recommendations for speech services–now her review has stated she uses “poor judgment” and she’s been told she’s “not a team player”. Her admin has made it clear she should only recommend services if the “team” agrees–the way things are run, the admin is pressuring people to only recommend things based on budget and resources.

My wife is punished for recommending services in evaluation summaries, when the admin hasn’t given her blessing first. This state law says that my wife can do this: